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Improvements
focus of
School Board
meeting
By Gerald Ochs
Rappahannock News Writer
Much has been done or is planned to assure improvements in student performance at Rappahannock County Public Schools, and these were central issues at the December meeting of the School Board.
Though State Standards of Learning (SOL) tests are key to the full accreditation of all Virginia schools and acceptable pass rates are a prime objective, the School Board and school administration appear to be using a broader brush to paint the future; programs being developed, such as the International Baccalaureate Program, are designed to provide students with tools for their futures that go well beyond passing the SOL tests. ,
Richard Smith, Director of Curriculum and Instruction, has assumed the mantle of responsibility for the design and implementation of many of the planned improvements, and he reported to the Board on progress in a number of these areas. His first report pertained to the SOL problem areas in the high school; social studies and mathematics.
He presented a table that compared Rappahannock County Public School SOL pass rates with state averages, and he noted that in two of ten areas elementary school performance is below the state average (though these in these two areas, Grade 3 history and science, students still achieved passing grades), middle school performance is above state averages in all five of their SOI# test areas, and the high school fell below state averages in five of eleven test areas reported.
The poorest performance itt the high school was in Algebra II (33.3 percent pass rate compared to a state average of 74) and U. S. History (38.5 compared to 47), and Algebra I and Geometry scores fared poorly too, with both in the 50 percentile passing range.
Mr. Smith noted that social studies scores are accumulated for the purpose of accreditation evaluations, and that good student performance in World History I and II last year almost overcame poor performance in U. S. History. He stressed however, that the intent is to pass in each subject, and he discussed the approach that is being used to fulfill that objective. t- '
Performance in the U. S. History SOL statewide has been poor, and the State Department of Education has changed and compressed the curriculum and adjusted downward the passing score in an attempt to improve pass rates.
Rappahannock social studies
Sm SCHOOL, Page A8
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